Garment



June 23, 1953 H. s. HElLBRONN-ER' Filed M aih14,,1951

v lNVE'NTOR ATTORNEY Patented June 23, 1953 UNITED) STATES;

This -inventio'n relates generally 1 to garments but-:more' particularly to certain newand useful improvements in the neck portions of shouldersupported garments; suchas' shirts and other types of outer and pullover garments.

It .has.for:-.one of its: objects to :provide: a gar;- ment of thisnhar'acter with a self-adjusting neck enclosure having as hermetic a sealing of" the neckline-as is practically possible and wherein such" enclosure" is made as a unitary or *permanently conducted part of the shoulder portions of the garment:

Another object-ofthe-inventionis to provide a pullover garment-having' a self-adjusting neckand shoulder inset construction designed to readily stretch or expand when pulled over the head and capable of restoring or closing itself neatly and snugly about the neck of the wearer.

A further object is to provide an integrally constructed shoulder and neck portion which is so designed as to be simple and inexpensive to produce and require a minimum-of seams. v

Other features of the invention reside in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the drama EFICEaq;

The frontand back portions of the body w of" the garment terminate-insubstantially straight edges forwardly and-'rearwardly'ofthe neck-to provide a resulting neck and shoulder registering space intowhich my novel -'unitary shoulder-and neck portion ll, [2 is inserted in-spanningfash garment embodying my invention. Figure 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the neck and shoulder portion of the garment, viewed from line, 2-2, Figure 1. Figure 3 is a perspective view of the blank from which the neck and shoulder portion is made. Figure 4 is a perspective view of such blank in its longitudinally-folded position prior to its final shaping. Figure 5 is a perspective of the final shaping stage of the neck and shoulder portion prior to inserting and stitching into assembly into the garment. Figure 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of blank from which my invention can be made.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

By way of example, I have shown my invention in connection with a pullover type of garment of the athletic or sweat shirt type, wherein l0 indicates the body of the garment, II the shoulderengaging or enclosure portion, l2 the upstanding neck rising centrally from the shoulder portion and self-adjustable to snugly fit the neck of the wearer and stretchable with such shoulder portion to readily expand when the garment is pulled over the head, and I3 indicates the sleeves which are secured in the usual manner to the customary arm holes provided in the body of the garment.

ion or'assembled in the-manner shown in- Figures -1 and =2, the same beingstitched alongits-front and rear edges',-as-.indicated at I4 and-|5-,"-to-"the--* companion upper edges of the garment-body; anditsendsloeing stitchedjas indicated at lfij to' the companion opposing upper edge portions of thesleeves l3..-

This unitary neck and shoulder-portion =l l-', -'"l2 is in the form of an insetand is made from a as seen in Figure 3. The space between the transverse wing-extensions is such that in the final shaping of the inset these extensions are alined. V

longitudinally and disposed in diametric relation to the neck portion, as shown in Figure 5. It will be noted in this figure that the wales of the material are shown as extending crosswise of the blank for a purpose which will hereafter appear. When this blank is folded lengthwise on itself medially of its central section ll, as shown in Figure 4, the two sets of transverse extensions I8, 18 register in overlying relation, the central section constituting the neck portion [2 of the inset with the fold l9 forming the upper edge thereof, while the transverse extensions constitute the shoulder portions II. This lengthwisefolded, double-thickness blank is next folded medially transversely on itself to the position shown in Figure 5 to bring the central section into circular shape to form the upstanding neck [2 and to simultaneously bring the transverse extensions into outwardly-extending radial and diametrically alining relation to the lower edge of such neck portion to properly locate and form the integrally joined shoulder portions II. The abutting free ends of the neck portion ar properly closed by stitching 20 or the like, and the unitary assembly isthen ready for insetting into the neck and shoulder forming space provided in the body of the garment and it is secured thereto by the stitching l4, l5 and 16. It will be noted in the final formation of the unitary neck i and shoulder inset that the shoulder extensions 18 assume a position at right angles to their initial positions and in so doing the Wales thereof become alined with or extend in the same direction as those in the neck portion l2 with the result that a natural stretch is had about the neck line when the garment is pulled over the head and the shoulder portions are free to flex or stretch simultaneously therewith. This makes for a very comfortabl wearing garment and assures a snug fit or hermetic seal about the neck of the wearer.

When making this unitary neck-shoulder inset from tubular material, the blank is shaped from a rectangular section of such material and then cut to the contour shown in Figure 6 to provide the shoulder or wing-like sections 25 and the neck section 22, the ends of the later including the folds of the blank to form a continuous circular neck. In shaping the inset, the neck section is folded lengthwise on itself which results in the shoulder sections assuming alined positions at diametrically opposite sides of such'neck section, the same as shown in Figure 5. However, in this modification, the neck section is continuous and the seam is eliminated.

While the side edges of the shoulder sections are substantially straight, they may be cut to any other shape desired. Furthermore, it will be noted that the shoulder sections of the inset are seamless and afiord a smooth overall contact with the shoulder and eliminate discomfort to the wearer when carrying a gun, golf bag or like shoulder strap article.

I claim as my invention:

1. A garment of the character described, comprising a body having front and back portions terminating at their upper edges short of the neck portion, and a one-piece neck and shoulder inset of elastic knit material disposed in span ning fashion between such upper edges and secured at its front and rear edges thereto the neck portion of the insetbeing upstanding with the wales thereof extending vertically and the shoulder portions radiating diametrically in opposite direction from the'base of the neck portion and with the wales thereof directionally alined with those of said neck portion.

2. A unitary shoulder and neck inset for garments, comprising a single piece of elastic tubular knit material laid fiatwise to define resulting folds at its side edges and having a longitudinal section including the folded edges of the material to form an upstanding neck section, and wing- -like extensions projecting substantially medially from said neck section in substantially cruciform relation thereto to form oppositely-extending shoulder sections radiating from the neck section in diametric relation thereto.

HARRY S. I-IEILBRONNECR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date I a 837,143 Starr Nov. 27,1906 1,707,441 Levinson A riz, 1929 2,312,609 Warshaw Mar. 2, 1943 2,434,809 Northrup Jan. 20, 1948 2,466,368 Brohard Apr. '5, 1949 

